Lubrication is often treated as a minor maintenance task, but it is one of the most frequent causes of premature failure in bearings, gears and other mechanical components. It is not just about "greasing on time": the wrong lubricant, the wrong amount, or a contaminated lubricant can cost as much as not lubricating at all.
Why lubrication is more than "greasing on time"
The lubricant's job is to maintain a film that separates the metal surfaces moving under load. When that film breaks down —due to a lack of lubricant, the wrong product, or contamination— the surfaces make direct contact, friction increases and wear accelerates. A technical study cited by industry specialists attributes a significant share of premature bearing failures to incorrect lubricant specifications and application, confirming that this is no minor issue: choosing and applying the right lubricant has a direct impact on how long the equipment lasts.
The two most common mistakes: under-lubrication and over-lubrication
Many plants schedule lubrication by calendar or operating hours, without considering the equipment's actual condition. This leads to two equally costly extremes:
- Under-lubrication: increases friction, accelerates wear and can cause overheating.
- Over-lubrication: causes internal churning, higher temperatures and premature degradation of the lubricant itself.
In both cases the result is the same: lower reliability and a shorter service life for the component. Maintenance specialists recommend adjusting lubrication to the asset's actual condition —not just the clock or the calendar— by combining frequency with inspection.
Contamination, the silent enemy
A clean lubricant in the drum does not guarantee it arrives clean at the equipment. Lubricant manufacturers, citing data from specialized organizations such as NORIA Corporation and STLE, estimate that particle contamination accounts for a very high share of equipment failures related to lubricant, and that abrasive wear alone represents a large part of that figure. The most damaging particles are often just 1 to 10 microns in size, invisible to the naked eye, and a lubricant can become contaminated simply by being transferred between containers several times before it reaches the machine.
That is why lubricant handling and storage is just as important as the product itself: sealed containers, fill points protected against dust and moisture, and transfer tools dedicated by lubricant type to avoid mixing.
Best practices for a reliable lubrication program
Plants that reduce lubrication-related failures tend to share these practices:
- Use the lubricant recommended by the equipment manufacturer, not whatever was "left over" from another machine.
- Set amount and frequency based on the asset's actual condition, not just the calendar.
- Protect storage and transfer to avoid contamination from dust, water or mixed products.
- Run periodic lubricant analysis to detect wear or contamination before it becomes a failure.
- Ensure the correct lubricant is always available as part of your MRO inventory, so a re-lubrication is never postponed for lack of material.
FAQ
Why is industrial lubrication so important?
Because it maintains the film that separates metal surfaces in motion. Contamination and incorrect lubricant selection or application are among the most commonly cited causes of premature failure in bearings and other components.
Which is worse: too little lubricant or too much?
Both damage the equipment. Under-lubrication accelerates wear through friction; over-lubrication causes overheating and degrades the lubricant ahead of time. The goal is the correct amount, not "more is better".
How is lubricant contamination prevented?
With proper storage, dedicated and clean transfer tools, protected fill points, and periodic analysis that detects particles or water before they damage the equipment.
IMS Global, your ally in industrial lubrication
At IMS Global we supply lubricants, greases and maintenance consumables as part of our MRO portfolio, and we integrate them into our on-site vendor managed inventory (VMI) program with the SAMI system, so the correct lubricant is always available when your maintenance team needs it, with no shortages forcing a re-lubrication to be postponed. If you want to stop improvising on this critical point of your maintenance, let's talk.